Safety razor



y 12 SKELLEY' SAFETY RAZOR Filed July 5, 1

am L'har/es ,L. Ska/[g5] @ww Patented July 12,1927. L

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. f

CHARLES L. SKELLEY, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SAFETY RAZOR.

Application filed July 3,

as to avoid the nuisance of having to replenish ones supply of freshblades, a safety razor should be so constructed that the blade may berepeatedly used and easily stropped and honed. Moreover. the standardrazor blade may be made of the best obtainable steel and in accordancewith the highest standards of workmanship, because the blade is to lastfor a long time and the aver-, age purchaser is willing to pay thecost'price of'such a superior article. On the other hand, themanufacturer of thin wafer blades, intended, to be used a few times andthen thrown away, faces a keen competition that detracts from hisability to employ the best of materials and workmanship; In fact, it isto his interest that the blade shall have but a short life before newset of blades must be purchased. There is therefore a popular demand fora-safety razor of a better quality than now ordinarily obtainable on themarket. Moreover, in a razor which requires one to remove the blade fromits. holder in order to strop it,.o bviously does not satisfyall of therequirements, since this involves using a separate contraption forholding the blade during stropping. An-

meets the chief objections had against. this.

form of razor. Such a device shouldbe simple in its construction andoperation, and the guard used to protect the blade should be so locatedand arranged thatit may reparatus. For the sake of economy, as wellother shortcoming of mostof the automatic 1925. Serial .No. 41,370.

main attached to the blade and yet permit stropping the latter. Theblade should be so mounted on itshandle that it may be easily adjustedto either a shaving ora stropping position and secured there, withoutunnecessary, attention on the part of the operator.' The device shouldbe fool proof and ready to use at all times.

It is accordingly the main object of my invention to provide a simpleand economically constructed safety razor which has a standard steelblade properly protected by a guard and so arranged that the blade maybe used in hoe-like position for shaving or moved to a stroppingposition without removal of either theblade or the guard from thehandle. i

It is a further object to provide a razor of this type with a bladeholding and lock-.

ing mechanism which may be manually ad justed to secure the bladerigidly in either 7 of its two operative positions and which permits theblade to be quickly shifted as desired.

.It is a further object to provide a safety razor with a guard forthevblade which is so mounted on the blade that it will be held normallyin a correct position relative to the blade edge for shaving, but may bereadily shifted to a non-guarding position andpermitted to swing idlywhile the blade is being stropped, honed or dried.

It is a still-further object of the invention to provide a guard for therazor blade which is. so -mounted thereon that as the blade wears downinsize, the guard automatically assumes a proper position relative to theedge and the razor is always in correct arrangementfor efficientservice.

With these and other objects in view as. will-be apparent to one skilledin the art,

my invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in thespecification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

In accordancewith; one aspect of my invention,I proposeto provide asafety razorv which has a blade movably mounted on a handle and soarranged that it may be held in a hoe-like position for shavingor in asuitable stropping position,and preferably one in which the blade issubstantially radial to the center line of the handle. I also provide arazor blade with-a guard which is so mounted thereon that the guard barmay be located laterally of the blade as a safety two operativepositions.

arrangement and to protect the blade edge when the razor is not in use,or it may be moved downwardly a liniited distance so that the bar mayswing lreely laterally past the edge as the blade is being: stropped orhoned or cleaned and dried. The preferred form of guard comprises aserrated guard bar having resilient side arms mounted on the ends of therazor blade for a limited sliding and swimeing movement, and it may beheld lixed in a guarding position by means of the clanlping side armsand a hook engaging the blade edge so that the guard may swing only whenmoved into the strop ping position. The blade may be locked in )lace bymeans of a plunger mounted on the handle which is so constructed andarranged that the plunger may be pushed into contact with one or theother of two shoulders on the blade to hold it securely in either of itsThis plunger is preferably moved by means of a. screwt-hreaded sleevewhich is so arranged that it is unnecessary to move the sleeve but ashort distance to release the plunger and move it to the other locking;position. This movement of the plunger is preferably limited so that itcannot he accidentally removed from operative relation with other partsof the device. This invention is equally applicable to a razor bladewhich is pern1anently fastened in place in a holder or to a thin waterlike blade which may be removably mounted in a holder and replaced whendesired.

Referring; to the drawings which illustrate one embodiment of myinvention, and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is asectional view, partly in ele ration, showing the razorblade in the shoppineposition and the guard in the shaving position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation. with parts removed, corresponding with Fia1, but with the guard located in the stroppmg"position:

Fig. 3 is a side elevation. corresponding; with Fig. 2. in which theblade and the guard are in the shaving positions;

Fig. l; is a cross section on the line l----l of Fig. 2 showing themounting of the blade in the holder;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the blade and the holder. with the guardand the blade in the stropping positions; and

Fig. 6 is an end elevation showing a holder arranged to carry a thinwater like blade.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a. handle 10 which isprovided with a tapered portion terminating); in two yoke like arms 11between which the razor blade 12 is pivotally mounted tor moving from ahoelike shaving position, as shown in Fig. 3. to a stroppingr position,as shown in Fig. 1. For conveniences of manufacture, I make The razorblade 12 laiitably mounted in this holder 3 between the arm 16 on oneside and the arms 1? and ill on the other side which are formed integralwith the part 1st of: the holder and extend in such a direction that theblade will lie at an appropriate angle, such as 50, to the center lineof the handle. As shown in Fin. 1., the arm 16 extends substantially thelength oi? the razor blade; while the arms 1"? and 18 comprise twoseparated portions, as illustrated in Fig. 1, torn'ied by bei'idingrdownwardly the two metal pieces which are outside 01". the U- shapedportion 1-.l-.

in the constrnctiia1 shown in Fig. i, the razor blade llil rigidlybetween the holding arms. lit. however, itis preferred to use a thin erlike blade which may be readily removed 'lrom the holder, 1 may employthe constructnm shown in Fig. (l, in which the arms 19 and :20correspondingr with the arms ill, l7 and .18 are provided at their lowerends with lip-turned l111l1- bers 21 and of resilient material, whichare so spaced that. they will. clamp against a thin blade insertedbetween them and hold the blade l'irmly in posititm.

One simple means ol? locking: the razor blade in either o:l't itsoperative positions coinprises a plunger 25 arranged to be moved intocontact with dillerent portions oil the blade which are degrees apart,relative to the pivotal stupportinn pin 15. As shown, the plunger may beslidably mounted wit-bin a central passage into the handle 10. Theplunger is tapered. at the end adjacent the blade to a thin portion fillarranged to slide between the two :l'lat yoked members 1.1. The endsurface 53'? oil. the portion 26 (Eli the pltm rer llat and adapted toengracje one of the plane shoulders Flfrl on the sides ot the holder 13,when the blade is in the position shown in Fig. 1. llhen the blade hasbeen turned into the position shown in 3. the end 27 will then engagethe flat end 29 of the loop 1t ot' the holder. Since the contactingrsurfaces oi? the plunger and the blade are parallel plaiies, then it theplunger .25 is held from moving, the blade will be rig-idly lined, asdesired.

Various operating means may be provided for movinn' the plunger ba k andforth and to hold the plunger locked against either one of the shouldersand 29 ol? the holder and thus maintain the blade i,- jidl in thestropping or the shaving position. One

all

simple plunger operating device as illustrated, comprises a sleeve 32whlch 1s 1nternally threaded at 33 to turn upon the the other lefthanded, so that the plunger may be moved the desired distance by aslight motion of the sleeve.

In order to prevent turning the sleeve 32 too far outwardly and therebyaccidentally disconnecting it from the handle, I provide a cap 39 whichis screwed lnto the=1nternally threaded portion of the sleeve 32. Thiscap is provided with a slot 42 or other means which makes. it easy toremove the cap when desired for adjusting the parts of.

the razor.

It will therefore be seen that when the sleeve 32 is turned in such adirection as to move therplunger 25 outwardly, the plunger will strikethe inside of the cap 39 Soon after the opposite end 27 hasbe-enreleased from the shoulder 28 of the blade hold-er. Likewise thethreaded portions are so arranged and assembled that the plunger may bereleased from the shoulder 28 and the razor turned through 90 degrees tothe shaving position, after which the plunger may be moved forwardsulficiently to bring the end 27 into engagement with the shoulder 29 ofthe holder 13, this shoulder-29 lying also at 90 degrees from theplaneiof the.

shoulder 28. The outside surfaces of the handle 10 and the sleeve 32 maybe knurled" or otherwise constructed to provide a firm hand hold.

The'guard for the razor is preferably mounted on the razor in such amanner that the guard bar may be normally positioned laterally of theblade edge to protect the user of the blade, or the guard be moveddownwardly relative to the blade-and I permitted to swing freely from.side to side past the edge of the blade as the latteris being stropped,honed or cleaned. One simple construction involving my inventioncomprises forming the-guard with a cross bar 44 having teeth 45 andupsturned arms bent inwardly to a slight extent so that the pressureexerted thereby on the ends of the; blade tends to-prevent thefguardfrom being moved accidentally. V

In order tohold the arms 46 and 47 properly located and preventtheirremoval X' ceptwhen desired and yetpermit. the guard to be moved througha limited distance when T the blade is to bestropped, I provide theblade holding parts 16, 17 and 18 with the lugs 48 and 49 on each endthereof. The

upper ends of the arms 46 and 47 are also provided with enlarged heads51 and 52. The size of each head 51 and 52 and the distance between thelugs 48 and 49 are such that the head 52 cannot be drawn downwardlybetween the lugs but the guard may swing laterally to a slight extent.At each end of the serrated edge '45 of the guard bar I provide thehooks 55 and 56 which are so shaped and arranged that when the guard ispushed upwardly these hooks will fit over the edge of the razor bladeand prevent lateral swinging of the guard, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.The arms 46 and 47 are of such length that when desired, the guard maybe pulled downwardly against the resilient pressure ofthe arms 46 and 47until the heads 51 and 52 engage the lugs 48 and 49, as'shown in Figs. 2and 5, whereupon the guard bar 44 is sufficiently removedfrom the edgeofthe blade 12 so that the bar may swing freely back and forth past thisedge without touching it. In order that the operation of honing theblade may not wear the back of the guard to a detrimental extent, Iprovide thelugs 58 formed by bending back a thin strip of metal aboveeach hook, as

shown in Fig.5, and these lugs and the hooks 56 will ride on the honeand lift the guard bar 44 from contact therewith.

- :In view of the above description, it will now be seen that theoperation of this device is very simple- The razor is normally placed inits case in the position shown in Fig. 1, and to put it in position forshavingit is merely necessary to turn the sleeve 32 in such a directionas to withdraw the plunger 25 from contact with the shoulder 28 of theholder 13. Then by grasping the blade, the latter maybe turned throughan angle of so that it will be in a hoe-like position in which thecentral plane of'theblade makes an angle of about 50 with the centerline .of the handle. By turning the sleeve 32 in the opposite direction,the plunger 25 is pushed into contact with the shoulder 29 ofthe holder13, as illustrated in: Fig. 3. When it is desired to strop the razor,the blade is returned to the position p p shown in Fig. 1 and the guard45 is pulled 46 and 47 fastened thereto, which are ar ranged to bepivotally and slidably mounted on the ends of the blade. ,These arm'sare preferably made of resilient material and downwardly against theresilient pressure of the arms '46 and'47 until-the heads 51 and 52engage the lugs 48 and49 on' the ends of the-blade holder. Thereupon therazor may be stropped or honed and the guard bar 44 will swingidly pastthe edge of the blade withouttouching it. To use the blade normally, theguard is shoved upwardly as far till sitions the blade and its holdercorrectly, owing to the tact that the contacting faces OIElllQ plungerand the holder are plane laces adapted to lie parallel with each other,hence one need give no particular are when shifting the blade, except toswing it to an :u proxiinately correct position and then set the plungeragainst it, as well as to see that the guard is properly located. It,will also be obvious that the construction shown in Fig. ti may besimilarly employed and that the water blade may be removably insertedbetween the resilient members 521 and and used the same as the bladeshown in Fig. -l-.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is l. A sat'ety razor comprising a handle, ablade mounted thereon to more from a hoe like position to onesubstantially radial of the handle, a guard, and means to hold the guardn'otectively or nonprotectively asso ciated with the blade in either ofsaid positions, whereby the blade may be used for shaving or may bestropped as desired.

2. A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade pivotally n'ionntedthereon to move from a transverse shaving position to a stroppingposition lengthwise ot the handle, means to hold the blade fixed ineither position, a guard, and means supporting the guard on the blade ina protective or in a non-protective association therewith for bothpositions of the blade.

ll safety razor comprising ahandle, a blade pivotally i'nounted thereonto move from a. hoe-like position to a stropping position, manuallyadjustable means to hold the blade lined in either position, a guard,and means to hold the guard protectively associated with the blade or topermit it. to swing past the blade edge for the stropping operation.

l. A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade pivotally mounted thereonto move from a shaving to a stropping position, means on the handlewhich is manually operable to leek the blade in either position and aguard pivotally and slidably mounted on the blade which is arranged as aprotection on the blade edge during shaving or to be moved downwardly soas to swing late ally past the edge (luring stropping.

Ll. safety razor eon'iprisii'ig a handle, a blade movably mountedthereon and a guard pivotallv and slidably mounted so that it may bepositioned. laterally of the blade edge as a safety guard or it may bemoved downwardly to swing past the edge during the stropping operation.

(5. A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade pivotally mountedthereon, means to hold the blade in a hoe-like shaving position orsubstantially radially ot the handle for the strapping operation, aguard having a cross bar to protect the user from the blade edge andarms adjacent to the ends Oiii the blade, and means :for pivotallymounting the guard on the blade which permits the cross bar to beprotectively associated with the blade or to be moved downwardly andswing past the blade edge.

7. A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade mounted thereon. a guardlherelor having a cross ba and two resilient arms pivotally and slidablymounted relative to the blade, and means to hold the cross bar immovablein a guarding position adjacent the blade edge or permit the guard to bemoved downwardly and swing laterally past the edge. u

8. A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade thereon and a guardresiliently, pivotall and slidahly m niiited on the blade which has abar adjacent the blade edge and a hook arranged to engage the blade,said parts being so constructed and arranged that the guard may be moveddownwardl to disengage the hook and permit the bar to swing past theblade edge during strop ping.

A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade mounted thereon, a guardcomprising a cross bar. resilient arms which engage the ends of theblade, and a hool; adapted to engage the edge of the blade to hold thesame immovable, and cooperating means on the guard and the blade whichpermits the guard bar to be moved downwardly to disengage the hook fromthe blade and to swing laterally past the blade edge.

10. A safety razor colnlnfising a handle, a blade pivotally mountedthereon to move from a hoe-like to a stropping position, means to holdthe blade in either position, a guard having a cross bar locatedadjacent the blade edge, arms mounted on the ends of the blade and ahook adapted to engage the edge of the blade, and means holding the armson the ends of the blade which permits limited swinging and slidingmovements thereof, whereby the bar mav stand in a guarding position orbe moved downwardly to disengage the hook from the blade edge and swinglaterally pastthe same.

11. A safety razor comprising a hollow handle, a razor blade pivotallymounted on said handle to move from a hoe like position, a guard movablewith the blade, to a stropping position, a plunger slidable on thehandle to engage the blade in either position. and manually adjustablemeans on the handle to hold the plunger securely against the blade.

12. A safety razor conunrising a hollow handle, a blade pivotallymounted thereon to move to two positions. a plunger slid-- ably mountedwithin the handle to hold the blade in either position, and a sleevelllli lid threaded on the handle and the plunger which is arranged tomove the plunger in.

. stropping position, a plunger within the handle to engage the blade.and hold it in either position, a manually adjustable operating memberconnected with the handle and engaging said plunger to move the same,and means to limit the outward movement of the plunger.

14. A .safety razor comprising a hollow handle, a blade movable thereonfrom a hoelike to a stropping position, a guard therefor, a plungerwithin the handle arranged to engage and hold the blade in eitherposition, a sleeve threaded on the handle and the plunger to move thelatter, and a cap on the sleeve to limit the outward movement of theplunger. I

15. A safety razor comprising a handle, a razor blade pivotally mountedthereon and having two shoulders at about 90 degrees toeach other, aplunger slidably mounted on the handle and adapted to engage one or theother of said shoulders, and a sleeve connected with the handle and theplunger by threads running in opposite directions so as to move the samerapidly.

16. A safety razor comprising a hollow protect the edge'of the blade orhandle, a razor blade pivotally mounted thereon which has two shoulders,a plunger slidable within the handle and adapted to engage eitherof saidshoulders and hold the blade in either a shaving or a stroppingposition, screw-threaded means on the handle adapted to move the plungertowards and from the blade and a guard slidably and pivotally mounted onthe blade which is adapted to guard the same during shaving or to bemoved downwardly to swing freely past the edge during stropping.

17 A safety razor comprising" a handle, a blade holder pivotallymounted'thereon a razor blade removable from said holder, means on thehandle to lock the blade in either a shaving or a stropping position anda guard pivotally and slidably mounted on the'blade and holder which isarranged to to move downwardly and swing freely past the blade duringstropping.

18. A-saf'ety razor comprising a handle, a blade holder pivotallymounted thereon for movement from a shaving to a stropping position,resilient blade holding arms on'said holder, a blade removably mountedtherein, a guard for the blade edge and means to secure the holderineither of said positions.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 29th day of June, 1925.

CHARLES L. SKELLEY.

GERTEFIGATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,635,642. Granted July 12, 1927, to

CHARLES L. SKELLEY.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 4,line 120, claim 11, strike out the comma and words a guard movable withthe blade", and line 121 after the word "position" insert the words andcomma "a guard movable with the blade and that the said Letters Patentshould be read with these corrections therein that the same may conformto the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of August, A. D. 1927.

M. J; Moore, Seal. Acting Commissioner of Patents.

